Beliefs- God and SpiritDay Three

Heh Va Heh Yod

GODYHWH is the only proper name of God in the Tanakh in the sense of a personal name. Over time, it became forbidden to say the name and the actual pronunciation is lost.

Words such as Elohim (god, or authority), El (mighty one), El Shaddai (almighty), Adonai (master), Elyon (most high), Avinu (our father), are not names but titles, highlighting different aspects of YHWH and the various roles of God.

SOME KEY NAMES/ROLES FOR GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT1. Eloah: (singular, feminine, used in poetry & Job); Elaha- common name for God as at the

Roman Occupation.

2. Elohim: all powerful one; God of Gods; common name for God. Gen 1:1

3. El Shaddai: God Almighty

4. Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh: first of three responses given to Moses. “I am who I am”

5. YHWH:Tetragammaton. (Four letters- Yod Heh Wah Heh- “He is” ). Unspoken name of God after the second temple period. (Gen 2:4) Appears 6828 times in OT.

6. Adonai: (plural) The Lord. Used for the name of God since the Hellenistic period.

7. YHWH Tzevaot: YHWH of hosts- earthly or heavenly

8. Avinu: Our Father

9. Ha Shem: The Name שחה (most commonly used now).

When you think of the names in the Tanakh, which resonates with you?

Are there any memories from childhood? Does one appeal instantly today due to its meaning?

WHICH SPEAKS TO YOU?

God is mysterious not just because we cannot ever fully understand God, nor because our human concepts and language will always be incapable of describing God, but because as we come to know God more through our relationship with God, we come to humbly realise the profound mystery that God is.

GOD IN RELATIONSHIP

In our Judaeo-Christian tradition, we believe in a God who is present to humanity and the world. This is based on the Jewish and Christian experience of God through the ages as a God who has been involved in our human lives. The early Church came to realise that in their experience of God, the Divine was present and active in their world in a threefold way.

Preceding and underpinning their experience of being an original follower of Jesus, was their Jewish faith. This faith would have been a core part of the disciple’s identity, as it certainly was with Jesus. To have been Jewish was to love the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who revealed to Moses God’s divine name, YHWH. This disciple would have known from the Scriptures that YHWH is a God of compassion, justice and love, who hears the cry of the poor and acts to save them. This God would have been recognised as the transcendent Creator of all, a God who is intimately involved with people and creation.

THE CREED

I believe in one God,the Father almighty,maker of heaven and earth,of all things visible and invisible.

The Holy Spirit

It is said that the Holy Spirit makes God known to us and encourages our response.

Believers experience the mystery and depths of God through the Holy Spirit.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

The term “Holy Spirit” is a theological statement from the New Testament .

However, the concept of the Spirit of God appears frequently in the Old Testament and in the light of the Christian belief in the Trinitarian nature of God, it is possible to explore references to the presence of the Spirit in Israel before Jesus.

The concept of the Spirit of God developed over time in Israel, as did their understanding of God.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD: PRESENCE TO POWER TO BEING

The Spirit of God came to be understood as a sort of “assistance of God” (God who assists his people in the desert, God who helps the Jews through specific duties),

then as “the Presence of God” (the burning bush or the column of fire), or “the Power of God”,

until the Spirit comes to be understood , as in the later books, somewhat (“quasi”) as a separate being of God. The texts of Wisdom 15:11, Proverbs 8, Sirach 24, and Psalm 51 are some of the classic examples of this movement.

Wisdom’s Part in Creation - Proverbs 822 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work,

the first of his acts of long ago.23 Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.25 Before the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought forth—26 when he had not yet made earth and fields,

or the world’s first bits of soil.27 When he established the heavens, I was there,

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep…

Psalm 51:11 11 Do not cast me away from your presence,

and do not take your holy spirit from me.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Wisdom 15:11

11 because they failed to know the one who formed themand inspired them with active soulsand breathed a living spirit into them.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Sirach 24 THE PRAISE OF WISDOM

24 Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,

and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist.4 I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven and traversed the depths of the abyss.6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway.7 Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose territory should I abide?

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD AND THE MESSIAHIn Isaiah, the relation between the spirit and the Messiah is also very important. It is important to note that the idea of the spirit changes in radical ways with the monarchy, especially with the monarchy of David.

If at first the spirit was a shattering and transitory power, with the coming of David to the throne, it slowly transforms itself into a stable force, into a continuous assistance for the house of David.

If at first the ruah came as “special envoy”, now it “rests” on the elect of the Lord (2 Kings 2:15).

For example:• it is said of David that the Lord created him “a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel

13:14).

• Therefore, the Messiah, his descendant, “shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted” (Isaiah 11:4).

• “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2).

• “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1).

• “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly” (Isaiah 61:1).

THE SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENTHTTP://WWW.VATICAN.VA/JUBILEE_2000/MAGAZINE/DOCUMENTS/JU_MAG_01061998_P-08_EN.HTML

The revelation of the Holy Spirit as a person distinct from the Father and the Son, foreshadowed in the Old Testament, becomes clear and explicit in the New.

It is true that the New Testament writings do not offer us systematic teaching on the Holy Spirit. However, by gathering the many statements found in the writings of Luke, Paul and John, it is possible to perceive the convergence of these three great currents of New Testament revelation concerning the Holy Spirit.

In his Gospel, Luke intends to show us that Jesus alone possesses the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit also comes upon Elizabeth, Zechariah, John the Baptist and especially Mary herself, but it is only Jesus, throughout his earthly life, who fully possesses God’s Spirit. He is conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35). John the Baptist says: “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming ... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Lk 3:16).

Luke stresses that Jesus not only goes into the wilderness "led by the Spirit", but that he goes there "full of the Holy Spirit" (Lk 4: 1) and is victorious there over the tempter.

He undertakes his mission "in the power of the Spirit" (Lk 4:14).

In the synagogue at Nazareth, when he officially begins his mission, Jesus in Luke’s Gospel applies to himself the prophecy of the book of Isaiah (cf. 61:12):

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (Lk 4:18).

All of Jesus’ evangelizing activity is guided by the Spirit.

VATICAN DOCUMENTS-

LUMEN GENTIUM (Pope Paul VI 1964, Light of the Nations)

The Spirit animates the Church. It ‘gives life to, unifies and moves the whole body.’ The unity of the Church is grounded in the Spirit dwelling both in Christ and in the believers.

VATICAN DOCUMENTS-

The Council of Constantinople in 381 CE

The Council expressed the divinity of the Holy Spirit as ‘the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and is worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son.’

Where does the Spirit leave us as educators?

Inspired by the Spirit we might look at the world in a new way; appreciate and embrace all God’s creatures and be inspired in mission.

Look in the Religion Curriculum for specific references:• God • Holy Spirit• Trinity

Note the Content Descriptions for your year level and any just above and below your year level.

Record these using a Graphic Outline of your choice. Share with your table members.

Acknowledgement of Image

World Render Planet Earth 3D. Photo by unknown author. Used with permission under Creative commons Zero/ Public Domain/Max pixel license. https://www.maxpixel.net/World-Render-Planet-Planet-Earth-3d-3686260

For more informationREAP@bne.catholic.edu.au

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